Coney Island of the Mind

Yesterday Kate and I went to Coney Island.  It's been an important place to her for a long time and we both wanted to see how it had fared.  The subway wasn't going to the end so we got off at Avenue X (what a name) and walked to Avenue Z, then down Ocean Parkway.  There is much we saw during out walk and I will add more in different posts later this week, but just wanted to share these images of Coney.  Not so changed in some ways, but very changed in others.

The main way it has changed is that there was no beach.  The beach was all on Ocean Parkway, on the board walk, on the side streets.  It sat in enormous dunes (see picture of kate before one below), where it had been bulldozed, looking more as if a blizzard had occurred.  One that doesn't melt.  On the beach itself there was little sand.  Below this lone man was feeding the gulls.  He kept shouting at me to go away because my camera was frightening the birds.  I think his voice must have frightened them more, but I got this shot.  Below are other pics of Coney, including a toy truck washed up on the shore along with a doll's house.  The final picture Kate took of me.  I'll post most, as I said, later this week. 

But destruction was everywhere.  Chaos reigned on the buses and trains.  The arcades were covered in mud.  But for now this is where I'll begin.  The Coney Island of the mind, as it remains in my mind.